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Grooming is an important part of looking after your Schnauzer. Regular grooming will help keep your Schnauzer healthy and comfortable and you will spot potential problems early. Whether you decide to clip or strip your Schnauzer, help is on hand. Schnauzers are generally a non-shedding breed and will require a fair amount of grooming to get rid of dead hair.
Desperately been trying to post photos of Otto and his coat. I can only upload one and it doesn't show his coat off as well as some others (although it does show the wind in his beard very well but I just can't seem to manage getting the others uploaded. I am really enjoying the whole process of learning how to strip. I really think his coat looks lovely and it is a deep black - my primary reason for having a go was to keep the black colour and it is getting more and more wiry as we go on. I would recommend to anyone considering to have a go. I am committed to spending at least 10-15 mins each day maintaining it but compare that to the 2.5 hours I used to spend in one session clipping every 6 weeks or so - much easier on Otto also. Otto seems to really enjoy it too. Treats it as a bit of a massage and because it is only a short session he can't wait to get on the table. Thanks to Jo and others for helping me with this journey so far.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
He looks lovely,so happy and your grooming is definitely coming along great.
Try running a coarse knife,like a comb through his beard and I think a lot of the discoloured hair will remove...in the blacks we see brown or red in the beard...this is dead hair and I've been doing this comb with the knife to do this removal...it works a treat and I've got a lot more black back in the beard.( white in ottoscase)
You asked me about body hair length..
I've got the main body as short as a half cm long ( about half an inch) ..the fine comb is used to do this,after I've used the coarse for the first few passes.
Last edited by Robin black mini on 16 Apr 2018, 18:17, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks Jo. Great advice about the beard will definitely do that. I haven't touched his beard with anything other than a brush/comb so far. Gosh you have got the coat lovely and short haven't you. Will keep going and am looking forward to receiving the danish fine as they are lovey to handle. Are you carding with the fine or actually stripping with it to get it that length? I had another go on his thighs carding with the fine and got a much better finish - there really is a knack to this which I still don't fully understand.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
It really depends on your dogs coat as to which knife to use,and where I the body to use it..I often card with the coarse knife ,but at present my girl has very little undercoat on her..I get a lot of top wire hair off the whole body ,every week ,with the coarse knife..but then I repass with the fine( the Mars in this case) to get the coat shorter..the df knives are wonderful when the dog has more coat,especially winter.
To get the coat shorter,.I use my thumb to push up the coat hairs for the fine hair removal and get the hair really short.eg..when the dog's collar starts lifting hair it tells me the coat is too long..I like the collar to lie on a short ,smooth neck.
On the sides I've been coming down deeper into the skirt and I love the df knives for this..I also comb/ run the coarse df knife down the side of the dog into that curve at the abdomen that you say you find hard to get into...I have the dog standing across my front,on the table and run the comb on the outside,down the dog( i.e. The side away from me,outside) if you also do this on the leg thigh hairs it gets a lot of coat out and transitions well from zoneto the next zone.
I also hold the dog in this position when I coarse knife comb down through the leg hair to get dead coat out,like the beard...the dull brown areas in the black legs are dead hairs,they come out easily.you could also use a piece of stripping stone against your thumb, if the dog doesn't like this area being strip combed..I used the stone here when she was a pup but now she's like a statue for all areas..
To get the thigh hair really short ,I have the dog lying lengthways along my legs as I sit on the floor so her head is near my feet...then I raise the thigh I'm stripping up with one hand,and can get right into the thigh hairs..it really is a funny technique but the dog is relaxed and I do get a lot of hair out.
I will take a photo this week to show you how short her coat is..but has to be done in sunlight as she's black.,to get a good pic.
Also I'd not strip every day...once a week is sufficient to allow the follicles to reclose..I bath the day after also for this reason..many dogs can get infections " from stripping" because the groomer strips and then baths the dog straight afterwards...shampoos can get into the follicles and the dog gets a reaction..so it's the timing that's wrong,not the strip per se.
Last edited by Robin black mini on 16 Apr 2018, 18:26, edited 1 time in total.
Always keen to add to my grooming tools,I've just bought an undercoat rake to try on the leg hair...
I bought a ten " blade" rake ,by croci vanity...scroll down in link,to undercoat rakes,diagram 4 ...mine is similar the one on the right..
I've been getting the dead ,brown hair from my dogs black legs using a coarse stripping knife.i have to say she's a good girl to groom,but doesn't like the leg hair being stripped out ....
So I thought I'd try this undercoat rake here ....what a difference ....I got huge amounts of dead coat out in the first use and the dog was much happier with the wider teeth going into her leg hair..the legs are almost back to black.
For those who don't strip,this is worth a try on the dogs coat,and will definitely get loads of dead coat out...but for the strippers,it's worth adding it ,just for the legs and maybe the beard alone.
Yes I have used one of those on Otto's thighs with some success although it can cut the hair but not too bothered in that area anyway. Otto doesn't like that area been stripped at all. I have found something simple that works on the lower waist/side areas which are difficult if your dog won't lie down. I have been using the finger cots and using fingers. With Otto's head facing my chest and one hand each side I couldn't believe how much long hair almost fell out. They are really good to use on the longer hairs, much quicker than with a stripping knife as well and because I can move my fingers around so quickly on different parts of the body it seems to work really well for Otto. When I went to Crufts this year there were lots of breeders who said they roll the coat by finger pulling- I understand why once you have the coat in a nice state it is easy to maintain that way if you just want to remove long hairs. Because I am rolling the coat now I am starting to see the coat at different lengths when you lift it. It has take me ages to get to this point.
There is one thing puzzling me Jo, under the collar the hair is almost fuzzy, it is too short to strip and if I did remove it he would be bald. Do you have the same problem or is Robin's hair stripped so short around the neck that the collar sits on the hair rather than some of it spilling over.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
Oscar 12345 wrote: ↑18 May 2018, 20:29
There is one thing puzzlingly me Jo, under the collar the hair is almost fuzzy, it is too short to strip and if I did remove it he would be bald. Do you have the same problem or is Robin's hair stripped so short around the neck that the collar sits on the hair rather than some of it spilling over.
I Don't have this issue with Robin and her neck area is like the rest of coat,very short wire...I'm using the fine knife here to keep it short..The collar sits cleanly on top of the hair...once I see hairs raised its time to clear undercoat out.
Your pup is still young and it could be he still has not made a lot of wire in this zone..I would card the area with a fine knife until you are happy with the lay of the hair... Some dogs don't finish coat change until 18 months..the black and silvers I've seen here have all been a bit later in changing coat compared to the blacks I've seen..but it would be interesting to compare to uk dogs too. My black girl is German,Belgian and Russian lines..good wire coat from a very early age,but sparser leg hair..the USA imports have much fuller furnishings but this often goes with a softer top coat.
Thanks Jo, I think there is still a little too much undercoat in some places and the wire is too long in some places so the finger pulling will help considerably. Along the top of his back there is no undercoat really, just a lovely wire. The top coat wire seems to be so strong and thick (like the whisker hairs around the face) that he is difficult to card. I also find it really hard to get a flea comb through his jacket for the same reason. I have to lift up the wire to get at any undercoat and it takes ages. Looking forward to going to another show now that I have been stripping for some time. I love to pick up tips, I have come along way but still much to learn.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
Sorry pics are tiny..struggling with this new post image site
Plucking coat with finger cots is really just for fine tuning a coat.show breeders use this method to address the odd flyaway hairs..
You have to persevere with your knives..
If you can't get through coat address the undercoat first. Try lifting beard. Etc. lift in sections to get into it..
Try to address specific areas at a time..or your work will be too superficial.
My tiny pics show a half inch coat ,achieved by using stripping knives..
Remember your pup is not mature yet..his coat will be very different in a few more months..
Last edited by Robin black mini on 24 May 2018, 12:57, edited 3 times in total.
Robin black mini wrote: ↑24 May 2018, 12:40
Sorry pics are tiny..struggling with this new post image site
Use the Forum hotlink option under Share. It will give you the bigger picture. Don't use the Thumbnail version.
Dean (Dog dad)
Rupert, black mini, 24/12/10 - 01/03/24
Watson, black mini born 21/02/12
I offer my advice freely, but I am not an expert, breeder, groomer or behaviourist. It is simply my experience of raising pups in a way that seems to make sense.
but I just can't seem to manage getting the others uploaded. I am really enjoying the whole process of learning how to strip. I really think his coat looks lovely and it is a deep black - my primary reason for having a go was to keep the black colour and it is getting more and more wiry as we go on. I would recommend to anyone considering to have a go. I am committed to spending at least 10-15 mins each day maintaining it but compare that to the 2.5 hours I used to spend in one session clipping every 6 weeks or so - much easier on Otto also. Otto seems to really enjoy it too. Treats it as a bit of a massage and because it is only a short session he can't wait to get on the table. Thanks to Jo and others for helping me with this journey so far. 
